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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Hormuz News

20 Jul 2026

Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers in Gulf of Oman Slow After Recent Vessel Attacks

© Adobe Stock/Dmitri

Oil transfers between tankers in waters outside the Strait of Hormuz have slowed following a wave of recent attacks on vessels by Iranian forces, according to satellite analysis and sources.Since the start of the Iran war in late February, ship-to-ship (STS) transfers between tankers have helped enable oil to leave the Gulf despite the threats to commercial vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.Under the practice, tankers using one of two makeshift routes close to either…

15 Jul 2026

Shipping Companies Turn Down US-Guided Military Transit Through Hormuz

© Adobe Stock/alones

Shipping companies are avoiding using a U.S. military-guided transit scheme through the Strait of Hormuz after a wave of Iranian attacks on vessels sparked safety concerns, seven maritime security and shipping industry sources said.For decades ships sailed into and out of the Gulf using a safe set of lanes down the middle of the strait established by the U.N.’s shipping agency in 1968 dubbed the Traffic Separation Scheme.Since the Iran war began on February 28, Iranian forces have mined this area…

06 Jul 2026

Windward Daily Report: 16 Outbound Vessels Transit Hormuz

Screenshot of transits through the Strait of Hormuz, July 5, 2026. Source: Windward Maritime AI Platform.

July 6 presents a modest but operationally significant shift at Kharg Island, where both the western and eastern crude terminals were reoccupied overnight by dark ballast tankers, fresh arrivals not present in the July 5 collection, indicating a new loading cycle is opening after a period of terminal vacancy. Three dark VLCC-class tankers of approximately 333 meters are now at berth across both terminals, with loading expected to commence within 6 to 24 hours.July 5 recorded 36 AlS-visible transits…

10 Jun 2026

Dominguez Warns: No Safe Hormuz Passage

Source: IMO

Secretary-General of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, has issued a warning to the shipping industry:"I am increasingly concerned by reports that vessels continue to attempt to transit the Strait of Hormuz without any credible security guarantees, despite well‑established risks and the fact that seafarers have already been killed, injured and others detained in recent incidents.“My primary concern is for the safety and lives of the seafarers being placed in these situations. They must not be exposed to conditions where the risks are known, significant, and clearly beyond mitigation.

09 Jun 2026

CMA CGM Chief: “Unwise” to Assume Hormuz Will Return to Pre-War Situation

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

It would be "unwise" to assume that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will return to how it was before the Iran war, the head of French shipping group CMA CGM said on Tuesday.CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container line, is among firms with vessels stranded inside the Gulf since the start of the conflict that has virtually closed the waterway, which carries a fifth of global oil and LNG supply."Even if a solution for peace is implemented in the coming weeks, there's no guarantee there won't be another crisis later on and we can't be prisoners to Hormuz…

27 May 2026

US Carries Out New Strikes on Iran

An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, takes off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 11, 2026. Tripoli is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo)

The U.S. military carried out new strikes overnight in Iran targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to U.S. forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. military has also intercepted and shot down multiple Iranian drones that posed a similar threat.The U.S. military strikes, which have not been previously reported, came during negotiations…

21 May 2026

Chinese Container Ship Among Few Crossing Hormuz

© Adobe Stock/EvrenKalinbacak

A Chinese-operated container ship was among the few to cross the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, data showed on Thursday, as uncertainty grows around reopening the critical waterway with talks over a deal between the U.S. and Iran deadlocked.Before the war on Iran began on February 28, shipping traffic through the strait averaged 125 to 140 daily passages. Due to the conflict, 20,000 seafarers remain stranded inside the Gulf on board hundreds of ships.Shipping traffic has…

19 May 2026

NATO Not Drawing Up Plans for Hormuz Mission

© Algimantas / Adobe Stock

NATO is not drawing up any plans for a potential mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would need a political decision to do so, its top commander said on Tuesday, amid suggestions by some members that the alliance could play a role there.Any decision to launch a mission would require the approval of all NATO's 32 members and several have already signalled opposition, although no formal proposal has been presented so far, according to diplomats."The conditions under which NATO would consider operating in the Strait of Hormuz are ultimately a political decision," said U.S.

17 May 2026

VLCC Heads for Vietnam After Hold-Up in US Blockade

© Carabay / Adobe Stock

Supertanker Agios Fanourios I is heading for Vietnam to discharge its Iraqi crude oil cargo after it was held by the U.S. Navy for five days in the Gulf of Oman, shipping data on LSEG showed.The Maltese-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz on May 10 and was sailing in the Gulf of Oman before making a U-turn on May 11. It resumed its journey toward Vietnam on May 16 and is expected to arrive at the Nghi Son refinery on May 30, LSEG data showed.The U.S.

14 May 2026

Oil Prices Rise Amid Fears of Ship Attacks and Seizures

Source: Government of China

Oil prices rose Friday as market concerns persisted over ship attacks and seizures despite Iran saying about 30 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. and Chinese presidents were set for a second day of talks in Beijing.Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose 60 cents, or 0.57%, to $106.32 a barrel by 0100 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 were up 54 cents, or 0.53%, to $101.71.A ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the United Arab Emirates and headed for Iranian waters on Thursday, while the White House said U.S.

12 May 2026

South Korea Weighs Phased Role in Hormuz Mission

Source: South Korea Ministry of Defense

South Korea is reviewing a phased contribution to efforts to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday, signaling support steps short of military participation, Yonhap News Agency reported.Ahn told a press conference with South Korean media correspondents in Washington that he had conveyed Seoul’s position at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday."We said at about this level that, fundamentally…

07 May 2026

Oil Tanker Hit Near Strait of Hormuz, US Pauses Assist Program for Stranded Vessels

© Adobe Stock/Aerial View

A Chinese-owned oil products tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported, as President Donald Trump launched a U.S. plan that day to help stranded vessels but suspended it a day later.This was the first time a Chinese oil tanker has been attacked, a person with knowledge of the matter told Caixin on Thursday.Traffic through the vital strait, through which 20% of the ‌world's oil and gas supplies pass, has been at a virtual standstill…

05 May 2026

Oil Prices Fall 3% As Ship Passes Through Hormuz, US-Iran Ceasefire Holds

© Adobe Stock/LALAKA

Oil prices fell about 3% on Tuesday with at least one vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz after the United States said the ceasefire with Iran remained in place despite exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran following a U.S. effort to reopen the strait for oil tankers and other ships.Brent futures fell $3.43, or 3.0%, to $111.01 a barrel at 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $4.55, or 4.3%, to $101.87. Earlier in the session…

01 May 2026

Baltic Exchange Sued Over Hormuz Freight Losses

Copyright Timon/AdobeStock

Commodity trader Mercuria is suing the Baltic Exchange, the world's top provider of benchmark shipping indices, over losses it said were caused by oil tanker pricing data that did not account for the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a court filing showed.The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, has left hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers stranded inside the Gulf and unable to sail through the vital chokepoints with only a few ships willing to make the voyages daily.In a court filing dated April 30 and submitted through England's high court…

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